Project TITAN
by dawnbrightstars
Summary: Kids have been disappearing from Jump City for years, but nothing has been done about it until now. Set on the case by adoptive father- and secret agent- Bruce Wayne, Richard Grayson is now buried in a mysterious organization obsessed with creating an army. Can he and the other victims of Project T.I.T.A.N. make it out alive? Robstar, BBrae, possibly other ships.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been on a childhood kick recently, so this is what became of my Teen Titans marathon. **

**The plot is slightly crossed with Maximum Ride as well as Hunger Games but not enough for the entire story to be categorized as such. Hope you like it**

**Please Read and Review**

Richard walked down the dark street, hunched against the cold. It was late, too late for a sixteen year old to be wandering the city. He wasn't a normal sixteen year old, though.

Bruce's voice buzzed gruffly in his ear. "Stumble around a bit. Look homeless."

He drew the frayed, oversized, standard issue jacket tighter around his body and made the stutter in his step more pronounced. "Better."

Jump City was quiet at night- very much unlike Gotham, Richard's home town. There he lived with Bruce Wayne, who was part of the Justice League of America, a secret intelligence agency. Though there were many more qualified agents, they were all too old to successfully infiltrate Richard's mark. They needed a kid.

Children had been disappearing from Jump City; it's been happening for years, underneath the authorities' noses. Research showed that at first it was street rats, later evolving into kids from the rougher neighborhoods. They purposefully took children that the local police couldn't be bothered to find. But it changed a few months ago, when a rich businessman's daughter, Kitten Moth, had disappeared. Being a friend of Bruce's and therefore aware that he held a "government" job, the businessman demanded that something be done.

Patterns began to show up.

So now Richard was wandering around Jump, pretending to be homeless and harmless. The perfect candidate for a kidnapping.

A figure barreled into him just as he turned the corner, knocking them both to the ground. At first glance, it appeared to be a boy, since her face was cast into shadow by a baseball cap. They were dressed very much the same, with the latter in all black. Richard began to apologize before she grabbed the front of his jacket and dragged him into a nearby alley with surprising strength. He struggled weakly, still trying to keep up the pretense of weakness.

"Wh- what are-" He was silenced by her lips pressed against his. He froze, taken utterly by surprise. His hands settled themselves on her waist on their own accord, which was frighteningly small under the bulk of the jacket. He dimly registered the multitude of footsteps as they pounded past the alley.

Abruptly she shoved him away. All he could do was stare at the mysterious girl. A few strands of deep red hair had escaped from under the cap, and a sliver of moonlight managed to catch the bright green of her eyes (there was something unnatural about how green they were). Despite the darkness and dirt smudged on her face, Richard knew she was quite possibly the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

"Who-" he started, only to be interrupted again by a stern voice.

"If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone."

Then she was gone.

**Again, Please R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So I've been in a writer's mood recently, and I had today off due to the snow storm. I'm a sucky updater, I'll tell you right now. this is probably the fastest i've ever written a chapter. **

**Anyway, please keep an eye out for mistakes or anything that doesnt match up and let me know if you find anything. Reviews like extra hours of sleep!**

Richard blearily opened his eyes only to be greeted with white. White? What happened to his room? His walls were meant to be painted red.

All of a sudden it hit him- the case, the kiss, the prick of pain at the base of his neck. The blackness. And now, waking up. Waking up where?

He was on a hospital bed, for one. In fact, it was safe to assume the room was an infirmary, due to the rack of medical supplies against the wall. There was just enough room to walk around the bed without hitting a whitewashed wall with an elbow. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, taking note of the oversized black sweatpants and t-shirt.

His first few steps were shuffled, due to the stiffness in his legs. How long have I been out? he thought. He expected the door to be locked, but it opened easily. The hallway was he entered narrow and unadorned; he could hear voices coming from the other end. Nervously running a hand through his perpetually messy black hair, he hovered in the entrance to what appeared to be a normal living room.

A dark green couch took up most of the space, wrapping around the room in a large semi circle. Set on the wall was a decent-sized TV; at the moment it showed what appeared to be a racing game. All of this he processed in a second- what took him longer were the people.

He could only see the back of their heads, but considering one was green, one was purple, and one was half metal it was enough to make him pause. Two of them (Richard decided they were guys) were really into the game, flingling the controllers around as if doing so would make the cars turn faster. The purple head was situated farther away, chanting what sounded like Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos.

"Booyah," a deep voice interjected, and a mechanical fist punched the air.

"Duuuude!" the green guy whined, and Richard couldn't help but chuckle. Immediately, the two paused and turned around.

"Oh good. You're up," the purple-haired girl droned without looking up.

"Hey man, I'm Cyborg," the half-metal teenager grinned, holding out a mechanical arm to shake. He stood at least a foot taller than Richard- and Richard considered himself pretty tall. What was left of his human skin was dark, and his non-cybernetic eye gazed at him welcomingly. Despite his size and appearance, Richard felt relatively at ease with him.

"And I'm Beastboy!" the green-haired boy jumped up. Richard blink as he came closer. It wasn't just his hair that was green- his skin had a faint emerald tinge as well. A small fang poked out from his mouth. His black clothes were similar to what Richard was wearing, only more form-fitting.

"Raven," the girl said in a monotone voice, standing up and seeming to glide over. Her violet hair (the same color as her eyes) was cropped short along her jawline and after Beast Boy, her grey-toned skin didn't seem so strange. Like Beast Boy, her clothes were black, though instead of sweat pants she wore leggings and a hoodie.

"I'm-" Richard started, only to be cut off by three voices shouting no.

"Don't tell us your real name," Raven explained firmly. "_They_ can use it to find your family."

Of course, being a secret agent, he wasn't about to tell them that he was Richard Grayson. His alias had no family to speak of, though Bruce had created fake connections to make him more believable.

"Who are _they_?" he asked.

"Pick something that you won't forget, that you'll respond to easily," she advised, ignoring his question.

Suddenly the doors hissed open (he hadn't even seen the doors, they blended into the wall so well) and an unseen force shoved him against the wall. Raven shot him a warning glare as she and the other boys joined him, albeit more gracefully. "Stay there, don't move," she growled.

Four masked figures stomped into the room, shoving a familiar girl to the ground in front of them. Her knees hit the floor with a dull thud, and she stayed there, hunched over and clutching her stomach, her long red hair hiding her face. Beast Boy and Cyborg tensed.

"Let this be a reminder that escape is futile," a cold voice said, and a fifth man walked through the door. He wore a hockey-type mask, painted half black, half orange. He aimed a sharp kick at the prone girl, eliciting a small yelp of pain. Richard lunged forward without thinking, only to be held back by Cyborg's grip on the back of his shirt. He looked down the line at his new acquaintances; all had various levels of sorrow and anger written across their faces.

The sudden movement drew the man's attention, and Richard realized that the single visible eye was painted on the mask. "Ah. Our new... Student." There was a hint of a sick smile behind his voice. "I am Slade. I am in charge. You will obey everything I say. Is that clear?"

Richard nodded reluctantly, wanting to find out as much as he could before making waves. Slade took a step closer. "Good. What is your name?"

Silence. He remembered Raven's warning from not five minutes ago.

"No matter. We can come up with a subject ID for you." He looked to Raven. "The next competition is in three days."

At the wave of his hand, the other men turned on their heels and marched out. He followed them, roughly shoving the girl aside with his boot. "Welcome to Project T.I.T.A.N." Slade said, just before the doors slid closed.

There was a brief pause, and then the three teenagers rushed to the girl's aid. "Starfire, you ok?" "How far did you get?" "Did they hurt you?" "What was the surface like?"

"I am the ok," she mumbled, wincing slightly as Raven checked her ribs.

"How bad?" the purple-haired girl asked. Starfire bowed her head, and Raven asked again in a sterner tone. "How bad, Starfire?"

"Seven," she whispered, hugging herself. Silence settled over the room.

Her coat was ripped in several places, her hair was tangled, and dirt (or was that a bruise?) was smudged across her cheek. Never, in all his years training as an agent for Bruce, had Richard seen a person so young look so broken.

"If it is all right with you, I wish to do the lathering now." Her voice was soft and gentle, not at all angry. She stood carefully, finally seeming to notice the newcomer still standing against the wall. She met his gaze balefully, green eyes (he could now see that they were entirely green, not just the irises) filled with sadness for his involvement. "I am sorry," she sighed, before limping down the hall that presumably housed a bathroom.

Once again, a painful quiet settled over the four teenagers.

"I've decided on a name," Richard said after a minute, breaking the spell. He swallowed, remembering his promise to never let anyone die again, a promise he made after watching his parents fall.

"Call me Robin."

**Again, let me know if you liked it. The more reviews, the more pressure I'll have to update quickly. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys sorry for the delay... had to get it approved by my friend. I was nervous about this chapter for some reason. Anyway. Enjoy.**

Robin looked around his cramped room and sighed. It was furnished with only a double bed and a cardboard box filled with simple black clothes. Raven had sent him away with a promise to explain everything later.

Part of him wanted to search all of the rooms, look for hidden cameras, decide who he could trust and who might pose a threat to the mission. The other part of him wanted to lie down and sleep for a thousand years. Dammit Bruce, he mentally growled. What have you gotten me into?

Robin was no stranger to field work; all of the young trainees had gone out on minor missions with their mentors to gain experience. However, tracking drug dealers through Gotham was very different from a solo infiltration. To add to his isolation the nearly invisible comm located just inside his ear reported only static.

He was stuck in this hell alone.

After giving his room one final, detached glance he slipped out the door. The hallway was one of two (the other being the path to the infirmary) and was, for lack of a better term, the dormitory. There were five bedrooms, the owners of which had been rattled off by Beast Boy as he led Robin to his living quarters. The sole bathroom was located second door on the left.

Directly across the hall from Robin's new home was the room belonging to Starfire. If the redhead was anything like Raven, knocking on her door would be courting death. (He had already been warned away from the purple-haired girl's room.)

Something, however, told Robin that Starfire was unlike any girl he had ever met.

Besides, he was used to courting death.

He knocked lightly.

"You may enter," a soft voice answered. As soon as he opened the door, Robin quickly took in the room with a practiced eye. It was the same size as his, though the bed was oriented differently and a second battery-powered lamp hung from the ceiling. The now-familiar girl sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, watching as he hovered in the entrance. "You may come and do the sitting down if you wish," she said with a small grin, patting the space beside her. "My name is Starfire. And you are?"

"Robin," the boy spy supplied. It was thanks to his training that he was able to adjust to the new name without incident. The mattress squeaked under his added weight.

"Robin," she repeated, trying out the strange word. "What is a Robin?"

He frowned slightly. "A robin is a type of bird. It has a red belly and is said to signify the coming of spring."

"You have a bird name too? Raven chose hers based off a story. Does yours have a story? I have heard much about this 'spring'. Tell me, what are flowers truly like?" She spoke with a rapid-fire tongue, and he held up his hand against her eager expression.

"Actually, there is a story. Robin Redbreast," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling embarrassedly. "Remind me to tell you it sometime." Then the last of her questions registered and confusion dashed across his face. "You've never seen a flower?"

"No," she answered sadly, looking down at her lap. "Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg have described them to me, though. They said they were like bursts of color, and had the sweetest of fragrances."

Because of her upbeat and excited attitude, Robin had forgotten that this version of hell belonged to her long before he stumbled across it. He paused and studied her, reading defeat in the hunch of her back and way her slender hands played with-

"Is that a book?"

She looked up, startled, and he watched as her expression went from sad to eager in less than a second. "Yes, I got it for Raven," she grinned. "Can you believe it? A whole room filled with books! I would have gotten her more but this was the thinnest one I could find and the easiest to hide and-"

Once again Robin stopped her tirade. "You stole a book?"

"Were they not for the taking?" she asked, her voice suddenly small. Immediately, Robin's incredulous and righteous anger melted away.

"Well, no," he explained, once again rubbing his neck. How long has she been stuck here? he wondered.

"Oh. I am truly sorry."

"It's ok. Just don't... steal." There was an awkward silence as he mentally beat himself up for killing her mood. In an attempt to bring back the previous lightness, he asked, "What book did you get?"

Once again her face brightened and she hastily shoved the thin novel into his lap. "The Old Man and the Sea," he read out loud. "God, I hated that book."

Once again her smile dimmed.

"Should I have gotten another? Would she not be pleased with it?"

"What? No!" he exclaimed, aghast at his ability to say the wrong thing. "No, I think she'd really like it. I had to read it for school, and the teacher kinda ruined it for me."

Her face scrunched up in concentration as he spoke of school and assignments and essays. She remembered the stories Cyborg and Beast Boy told her, but it was hard to reconcile that image with her version of school. All the same, she listened with rapt attention as he explained the premise of the book, biting her tongue to keep from blurting out questions

"So yeah, I think she'd really like it," he concluded. Starfire squealed and threw her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. He was caught so off guard that by the time he went to hug her back she was already pulling away.

"Thank you, Friend Robin, I will go do the giving of it to her," she gushed, and then flew out of the room. Robin blinked.

Flew?

He need to talk to Raven about getting those answers.

**Yeah so sorry I made Robin hate Old Man and the Sea. Personally I loved it (interesting backstory there- it was my bedtime story for like a year) but school kinda ruined it. So yeah. **

**Anyway, tell me what you think. Reviews are better than week long vacations!**


	4. Chapter 4

**ahaha look! two updates it a week! Someone look for flying pigs!**

**Seriously. This doesn't happen. Anyway, enjoy it while it lasts... shortish chapter I know. Sorry. I feel like this is somehow worse than the other ones... (insert obligatory apology for my crappy writing here). Thanks to everyone who reviewed!(Tabbykatroses, Midnight1336, arsekickass13, and Sporks- btw I did read house on mango for school and I have to agree with you there.)**

A strange sight greeted Robin when he entered what Beast Boy had called the Ops room. Raven, who Robin had concluded to be the most anti-touch person he had ever met, had wrapped Starfire in a tight hug and was clutching the book tightly in one hand. It was obvious from the faces of Beast Boy and Cyborg that they were just as shocked as he was.

After a minute of stunned silence Raven finally pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Thanks Star," she said in a thick voice. Starfire smiled back, unaware to a certain extent just how much the book meant to her friend.

"Dude!" Beast Boy grinned, spotting Robin hovering in the hall and effectively ruining the moment. Raven's face slipped back into a blank mask.

"Right. Answers," she droned, beckoning him over to the couch. "You'll want to sit down for this."

So he sat, with Beast Boy and Cyborg lounging to his left and Starfire settling close. The proximity would have been uncomfortable had it been anyone other than Starfire; however, he sensed that it was a supportive rather than flirtatious move . In any case, he wasn't complaining.

"We are experiments."

"Jeez Rae, blunt much?" Beast Boy joked.

"Don't call me Rae," she snapped, and suddenly she had four red eyes instead of two violet ones. Robin jumped slightly, and Starfire put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Don't get Raven mad," she whispered, warm breath tickling his ear.

Cyborg picked up the story while Raven took a few deep breaths. "For some reason or another, Slade and his army found us and turned us into something... inhuman." He gestured wryly at his mechanical body.

"It's not just us," Raven said, commandeering the story once more. "There are dozens of test subjects, 'students', living here in groups of five."

Little by little the odd collection of non-humans pieced together the story of Project T.I.T.A.N.

Raven was the first to be taken, disappearing from her abusive home and landing somewhere worse. She told him about the dark energy that was pumped into her system, from when she was nine to when she was able to move things with her mind. Beast Boy appeared next, having been abducted while wandering the streets. His genes were constantly being spliced with dna from other animals, to the point where he could completely morph at will. He was twelve. Cyborg was the most recent victim, after being pulled from a car crash that supposedly killed the rest of his family. Converting him into a robot may have been the only way to save his life, but it's been a over a year and death would have been kinder.

"What about you? What's your story, Starfire?" Robin asked, turning to the silent girl. Panic flashed briefly across her face before Raven interjected, "Doesn't matter. What matters is you. You were taken... what, last night? And you're here. No lab time, no experiments, no being blasted with radiation until your skin changes color. Why have you been left human?"

Robin gripped the edge of the sink, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Black hair (laying in a messy heap now that he had to go without hair gel) and blue eyes, the same reflection that he's greeted every morning for as long as he could remember. Human.

Why human? Of all people, why him?

A knock on the door tore him from his thoughts. "Robin, are you the all right?" He opened the door to reveal a nervous looking Starfire, who was gripping her elbow and biting her lip anxiously. He flashed what he hoped was a reassuring grin.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Star."

"Raven wishes to start training you," she said, motioning for him to follow her. They had reentered the Ops room when Robin finally asked what he was meant to be training for. "The competition," Starfire explained, frowning slightly. "All the teams fight each other for points. Points give us stuff, like medical supplies and video games."

"And you can use your powers?"

"I believe the expression is, 'no holds barred.'" She looked at him for confirmation and he nodded distractedly. By this time they had made their way to the only door he had not

"What happens if you get seriously hurt?"

"Raven is a healer," she mumbled. Obviously this issue had come up quite a few times in the past.

"You can get killed!"

"No one cares if you die!" Raven growled, throwing the door open. "I don't think you understand that. If you get killed, no one's gonna mourn you."

"Except us," Starfire promised quietly, watching sadly as her friend turned and stormed back into the training room. "Cyborg, Beast Boy and I will care. Raven will care too. We are a... what is it called?"

"Family?" Robin offered, his heart breaking at her attempts to cheer him up.

"Yes. You are part of our family."

**Sorry for making Raven very interrupty- remember, she's just looking out for Starfire. Please review and tell me what you think. More robstar in the next chapter, I promise! And maybe some of Star's backstory(?) REVIEW PLEASE**


	5. Chapter 5

**finally a long chapter! you can thank me later. as in, reviews.**

**tell me what you think, yada yada yada... thanks to all who reviewed last chapter**

The training room was the largest room, with equipment such as a treadmill, bench press and punching bag lining the far wall. A blue gym mat took up the rest of the space and was currently being used by Beast Boy and Cyborg. The cyberkinetic teen had the changeling in a headlock, saying "You wanna make this interesting?"

"Winner gets an hour of single player?" Beast Boy answered hopefully.

"You're on grass stain," he grinned, just as Beast Boy turned into a lion and pulled out of his braced himself as his friend quickly whirls and leaps, using the momentum to flip Beast Boy harmlessly above his head. The lion turned into a falcon in mid air, flapping its wings a few times before dive back into the fight. Robin watched with a critical eye, Bruce's training coming to the surface as he picked apart each move. Neither were able to get the upper hand, though not for lack of trying. They relied solely on their powers, with Beast Boy shifting into various animals and running at Cyborg while he used his enhanced strength to deflect the attacks. There was nothing of the hand-to-hand combat that Robin had come to expect on missions.

"Cyborg, punch!" he called, spotting an opening. Instinctively, Cyborg swung his fist into Beast Boy's (who was once again a lion) snout, sending him reeling back into Raven. They landed in a tangled heap, Beast Boy grinning sheepishly at the angry empath.

"Sorry Rae," he said, scratching his head and quickly catching himself by adding "Ven."

She sighed.

"Please tell me you know something about fighting," she droned, looking Robin.

"A little bit here and there," he hedged. Actually, he had surpassed black belt ages ago, but the less they knew of his past the better.

He fought Cyborg first.

Because of Cyborg's superior strength, Robin had to rely on speed and agility. He started out weak, gauging how much of his skill he had to show.

Turns out, quite a lot of it.

Soon he was dancing around Cyborg, mostly dodging but occasionally blocking punches and sometimes landing a few hits of his own. The fight ended with Robin using a sweep kick to knock Cyborg's legs out from under him. The large teen landed on his butt with a thump while Beast Boy cheered.

"Dude you totally got owned," he laughed as Robin helped Cyborg to his feet. The part-robot grinned good-naturedly and joked, "I still kicked your scrawny green ass."

Raven raised her eyebrow at the three guys, her equivalent of cracking a smile. "Maybe he should be the one doing the training of us," Starfire whispered to her friend. The empath nodded.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Cyborg was asking. Robin shrugged.

"I was in a gang." So maybe it wasn't the best cover story- street fighting and traditional martial arts weren't always similar, though he was proficient in both. No one contradicted him, however, so he offered to teach them.

"Tomorrow," Raven said. "It's getting late. We'll all train tomorrow."

"Booyah! Single player, here I come," Cyborg bragged. Beast Boy followed him out, grumbling about one-sided coaching.

"If you don't mind I think I'll stay here for a bit," Robin said, turning towards Raven. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I got enough sleep."

The empath shrugged. "Suit yourself. Starfire?"

"I wish to stay here as well, unless you would rather be alone?" she asked with a worried glance at Robin. He smiled and shook his head.

There was a silent agreement that they would be sparring; neither of them noticed Raven leaving as they took their respective places on the mat.

"I don't even know your powers," Robin realized out loud, just as Starfire hurled a disk of green light at his feet. His back handspring was entirely instinctive, seeing as he was still trying to figure out what it was. "Wait!"

Starfire paused her attack and answered, "I have exceptional strength. I can also fly and shoot starbolts from my hands and eyes." Just as she was winding up to throw another disk Robin stopped her again.

"I don't know anything about you."

"And I know even less about you."

"I've told you stuff," he said defensively. She raised an eyebrow and suddenly looked very similar to Raven.

"You have been telling lies and half-truths."

"What-"

"Raven is an empath. She can sometimes sense when someone is being untruthful."

"But I-"

"It's no matter. She also feels that you are sincere, though that does not make much sense to me," she frowned.

"What do you think?" Robin was good at reading people. He had been trained to; it was an important skill for a spy. Starfire came off as innocent, bubbly, and unbelievably kind- but most importantly, smart. Smart enough to elude the men that hunted her, smart enough to hide a book on her person without them knowing. Despite her interesting grasp of the English language (though sometimes her grammar sounded better than his) she was definitely capable of forming and voicing her own opinion of him.

"I think you are to be trusted. But I wish you would do the trusting of us."

"Ok. Question for a win. Complete honestly," he offered. He watched her expression change as she mulled it over, taking note once again at how expressive she was.

"All right," she conceded, and immediately took to the air, aiming starbolts in rapid-fire succession. Robin dodged by flipping, cartwheeling, diving, rolling- any way he could stay in constant motion to avoid being hit. He avoided going on the offensive- the first reason being he would rather not get surprised by one of her powers, and the second the fact that she was staying close to the ceiling and was therefore out of reach.

Pain exploded in his shoulder suddenly, bringing him to his knees. It was only a brief (though powerful) shock, but by the time he snapped back to his senses she was on top of him, pinning him to the mat with her forearm pressed against his throat. There was a moment where both were too wrapped up in their thoughts to notice their position (Starfire worrying if she had actually hurt him, and Robin cursing himself for forgetting that her eyes could shoot the starbolts as well) but they quickly became aware of the proximity. For the first time Robin noticed how distracting her tank top and shorts were.

A flustered Starfire jumped into the air, landing lightly a couple feet away. "Friend Robin, are you ok?"  
"I'm fine, Star," he assured her, picking himself off the ground. "I think it's safe to say you won that round. What's your question?"

"How many stars are there? Are middle schoolers really that scary? What are movie theaters like?" She fired off several more questions in a single breath, all of them having to do with the outside world. Robin held up a hand to cut her off.

"You're only allowed one question," he reminded. "But you can always ask me questions about that type of stuff. The game's supposed to be more... personal."

She was silent for a minute, her face scrunched up in concentration. Finally, she asked in a quiet voice, "Have you ever had a family?"

His breath caught painfully. "Yeah," he mumbled. "A long time ago."

She bowed her head. "I am sorry. You do not have to say any more if you do not wish."

"No it's ok, I want to tell you." He exhaled slowly. "My parents were part of a circus, acrobats. They jumped through the air from swinging bars," he explained at her confused expression. "When I was nine a mafia boss- the leader of a crime gang- threatened the leader of the circus for money. When he didn't give it up, they tampered with the wires and my parents fell. I watched them die." His voice was unattached, like it was just a sad story he had heard a while ago. Suddenly Starfire's arms were wrapped around him; unlike her last hug it was gentle and Robin returned it immediately, if not awkwardly. Her long red hair tickled his nose but he didn't mind. It was soft where it brushed against the back of his hands.

"And you have been alone?" Starfire murmured, causing Robin's heart to flip. No, I had Bruce and Alfred, they took me in, he thought. However, he couldn't explain his adopted family without trying to come up with an excuse for why he had been wandering the streets. So it was with a guilty pang that he nodded and replied, "More or less."

They stayed like that for several minutes, until Starfire pulled away and offered him a sad smile. "Shall we continue?" He nodded.

Their second fight started out very much the same as the first, with Robin frantically searching for a way to reach Starfire between flips. He finally managed to launch himself off the bench (they had given up on the idea of staying on the map) and tackle her out of the air. He caught her around the waist and rolled them so that he hit the ground first. The fight ended very much the same as well, except their positions were flipped.

"Why did you kiss me the first time we met?" he asked without thinking, and immediately cursed himself. He had meant to ask about her past, but somehow that just slipped out. Her face flushed nearly enough to match her hair.

"I hid behind you while the soldiers of Slade ran past. It seemed that lip contact was the only way to keep you from speaking," she admitted as Robin let her up. They both sat cross legged on the mat.

"How did you escape?" he asked, suddenly feeling hopeful for a prison break. She turned away.

"I didn't."

"But-"

"They let me out," she snapped, suddenly angry. "They dragged me outside and told me to run." Robin's anger, which had been remarkably absent throughout the ordeal, suddenly started to burn. His fists clenched.

"How long have you been here?" He fought to keep his voice under control. Starfire stood and walked away, hugging herself. This time Raven wasn't there to deflect the question.

"My whole life," she whispered. "I do not remember anything else."

Robin was silent, stunned beyond belief as she continued, "My first memory is of light- a painful, burning light. I believe it to be the first of many treatments with radiation. I spent most of my days in a cage, which eventually grew too small for me to sit up fully. I could not understand the scientists who experimented on me, but there were a few words I recognized and assigned meaning to. Night was shlorvacks; rutha was pain and by extension weak. Tameran was used often in reference to myself. Sometimes other children were in the cages next to me- however we were unable to understand each other and most of them did not last long."

This time it was Robin's turn to comfort Starfire as her voice broke. He rested a hand on her shoulder, urging her to go on though he wasn't sure if he could take hearing any more of her story. "Then Raven appeared. She was different from the others; she was stronger and patient with my senseless mumbling- she even gave me my name. Once her powers developed she was able to get a glimpse into my mind to help me learn English. Much later we woke up and found ourselves in the Ops room."

Robin slung his arm around her shoulders in a pitiful attempt at a hug. She leaned into him all the same, briefly closing her eyes to keep tears from escaping as suppressed memories began to surface.

"They won't hurt you again," he promised fiercely, his voice low in her ear. Tension and fury boiled in his stomach the more he thought about her earlier questions. The flowers, the stars, the movie theaters- all the things he took for granted she had only heard stories of.

_I will get you out of here._

**mwahahaha... sorry i kind of hate myself for star's backstory. oh well. could be worse (ok not really it sucks) but this chapter was fun to write.**

**IMPORTANT NOTES  
I don't think I'm gonna put in all of the other Titans, mostly because I have problems keeping everyone in character. However, let me know if you have a character you're dying to see- I'll do my best to put them in (if I don't already have plans for them)**

**(For Sporks: dear god that book. we had a project on it that took _ages_. I don't think I would have hated it (maybe not liked it) if I read it on my own. school just ruins all the books. Also... I have plans for Jericho, don't worry.)**

**REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO GET OFF MY LAZY ASS AND WRITE (please)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Gahh! I'm so sorry it's been so short, and that i haven't updated in ages. I did something to my hand last week so typing was hell... still hurts a bit but here's what I had when it happened so that you guys don't murder me. Again, so sorry this is short. I'll probably be a while to update depending on how long it takes to heal, so... many apologies**

**And I just realized that I haven't been doing a disclaimer so in case any of you think I own the Teen Titans... no. Unfortunately, I've only got the story.**

Robin woke up hungry. That in itself was not unusual; after all he was a teenage boy and he didn't eat anything since being captured. Bruce had also put him on a strict diet of bland foods for a few days leading up to the start of his mission, so that his body didn't count on the five star meals Alfred often cooked.

What surprised him when he entered the Ops room was that he found a scene much like the one he stumbled upon the day before, except with the addition of a certain redheaded girl meditating alongside Raven. Yesterday he had woken up sometime after seven (according to the others), and he had just assumed he missed dinner.

"When's breakfast?" he asked, feeling his stomach growl again. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him incredulously (or, in Raven's case, pityingly). Everyone, that is, except for Starfire.

"We do not break the fast until the twelve of the clock," she explained brightly, before going back to chanting. He choked.

"Twelve?"

"That is when we do the interacting with the other teams." She opened her eyes to peer at her violet-haired friend. "Raven, are we doing any trading today?"

"Mario Kart for bandages ," she replied in her monotonous voice.

"When are lunch and dinner?"

"We're losing Mario?"

"You never play Mario anymore!"

"Is there only one meal?"

"Friends, we are in need of bandages."

"But we might!"

"Where do we go for lunch?"

"Dude!"

"ENOUGH!"

Raven's calm demeanor had finally cracked, and a dark form with four red eyes towered over the squabbling group. Everyone went silent and small.

"We are getting bandages from Bee, we are losing Mario Kart, and we only get one. Meal. A day." Her normally emotionless voice was laced with anger and impatience. Without another word she stalked off to her room.

"Hehe… sorry," Beast Boy grinned innocently, fully aware that he had been the one to push Raven to her breaking point. Cyborg rolled his eye and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him towards the training room.

"Come'on y'all, before Raven kicks our asses." Chuckling, Robin and Starfire followed.

**I know, I'm evil for such a short one. Anyway, please review, and also send in OCs... Can't promise anything but I'm open to suggestions. Please include the usual appearance, personality, powers...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay for updates! I love you guys for putting up with my shit. So there was the whole fiasco with the hand thing (i don't think it was broken per say but typing hurt like a bitch) and then I tried out for track (worst decision ever- actually it wasn't even my decision my volleyball coach also coaches throwing and knows where I live so I kinda had to) so now I can only write on weekends. Anyway, enjoy. I didn't have time to edit I typed it all today so please review and try to pick out mistakes. **

Robin had spend the morning teaching everyone how to fight without relying on their powers. Cyborg was good at it, though that may be because he was already semi-used to punching things. Beast Boy, on the other hand, was very bad. It wasn't that he was unable to do the simple moves Robin was teaching; he lacked the discipline and patience it took to learn them right. Oh well, Robin supposed. He could always just turn into a lion and eat someone.

Starfire was the most enthusiastic of students, though she didn't particularly like the idea of hitting people. Once she used her strength, however, she was able to take Cyborg down very quickly.

Raven, when she finally made an appearance, was a silent watcher. She didn't participate in the training, but something gave Robin the feeling that she was learning all the same. He often felt her eyes on him- or rather, on him and Starfire. There was nothing malevolent about her gaze, though. But he guessed that would change if he were to hurt one of her friends.

Just as he was fixing Star's stance a siren wailed, causing Robin to jump. Everyone else merely left the gym calmly. The door in the Ops room hissed open and Raven led them through a plain hallway to a massive room. Robin's eyes widened as he took in the scene.

There were dozens of kids milling around a clump of tables- it was not unlike a high school cafeteria, aside from masked guards that stood at attention along the walls- talking and laughing and all wearing black clothes. Some looked completely human, but most had at least one feature that stood out to Robin's practice eye. Starfire pointed to an African American girl with dark hair twisted into two buns. "That's Bumblebee," she whispered, her breath hot in his ear. The girl nodded to the group and suddenly disappeared, only to cross Robin's vision again only much… smaller. Her name suddenly made sense when he spotted two rounded wings fluttering from her back.

"We're not supposed to use our powers," Raven hissed once Bumblebee returned to full size. Starfire was already watching the guards nervously. The other girl rolled her eyes.

"Nice to see you too. Got the stuff?"

Robin was reminded of the drug dealers he had tailed back in Gotham. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire formed a ring around Raven and Bumblebee as the goods were exchanged, and the bandages were quickly hid in the empath's sleeve.

"Is trading really that taboo?" Robin quietly asked. Raven had made it sound like an everyday occurrence. At Starfire's confused look he explained, "Against the rules."

"Oh. The guards do not usually take kindly to trading, especially when the objects are valuable. Often they would do the confiscating of them and both teams suffer from it. Also, it is unwise to let the other teams know that you posses items of value on your person," she recited, acting as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. And it wasn't- not to her. Robin was struck by a pang of guilt as he remembered their conversation from the night before. My whole life. I do not remember anything else.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when a hand came down on his shoulder. "You ok dude?" Beast Boy asked, a look of genuine concern on his face. Robin realized that the girls and Cyborg had already taken a seat at nearby table. Robin nodded absentmindedly, then shook his head.

"Why do you care?" Despite the biting words his voice was confused and questioning. Beast Boy gave him an odd glance.

"Because you're part of the team now, a Titan, ya know? We watch out for each other." Beast Boy paused in his heartfelt speech. "Unless, you know, Cyborg's beating me at video games."

Robin followed the green changeling to the table, mulling over his words. They've been through hell, tortured and altered beyond humanity. How are they not bitter? How does Beast Boy find the time to ask about him, the new victim who's been around for less then a day? How does Cyborg find the ability to banter and joke and lighten the mood? How does Raven find the energy to be strong enough to be the leader and take care of everyone else?

How does Starfire find the compassion and selflessness to steal a book for her friend while being hunted down in a world she knew nothing about?

Out of all the questions he should have been asking himself, Starfire's bothered him the most. Her entire life has been about pain and cruelty and she still manages to smile brighter than he could ever imagine himself smiling, not since his parent's died. And even then he'd had Bruce and Alfred to take care of him.

Robin shook his head and looked at the redhead, who was smirking slightly. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said, would you like to go get food now?" Robin blushed.

"Yeah, sure."

Food was a bowl of homologous sludge that was given out to all of the kids. Silently, Cyborg began to spoon his portion into the other's dishes. They accepted it with a grateful look- again it appeared to be something that happened daily. When Robin refused, Cyborg shook his head and said, "It's ok man. I should only a little anyway- metal don't need food like people do."

It was thick and tasted like paste, but effective in filling his stomach. As they ate, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg took turns pointing out different people (That's Bee's group over there, they're pretty all right. We have an alliance. Watch out for them, they call themselves the Hive. Not nice. Oh, look, there's Terra. Beast Boy has a crush on her. Do not!) and explaining some of the rules of the games.

"Usually there's a challenge during lunch. It should be announced right about…" a buzzer made the entire crowd of kids freeze and turn to the front. "Now."

An image was projected onto the wall, reading, Optional Challenge. One person per team. Category: explosives. Worth 50 points.

Cyborg, of course, was the one who volunteered. Starfire explained that generally explosives meant constructing or disabling bombs and that he was the best at them. Several other people got up and joined him in a group near the door, the most notable of whom was a boy who couldn't be more than six and (if Robin remembered correctly) was a member of the Hive.

"So what happens if he loses?" Robin asked, almost afraid for the answer.

"Lab time."

And suddenly, there was yet another reason to get the hell out of this place.

**Again, please tell me what you think! (and also if you want an OC feel free to drop in a submission)**

**Shout out to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed but special mention to Sporks, arsekickass13, and Midnight1336 for reviewing every chapter. I always look forward to seeing your reactions. **

**DFTBA **

**-Dawn**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. I know this is short, sorry. My parents decided to ****surprise me with inviting most of our extended family over for the holidays- which was fun, I suppose, but spending too much time with people makes me go crazy. This is the first time I've been alone in several days. Anyway, enjoy!**

Cyborg stumbled into the Ops room just as Beast Boy set a new single-player record. "Aw man!" he complained. "Shove over grass stain!"

Starfire squealed and tackled the mechanical teen. "Cyborg! You are back! Are you the all right?"

"I'm fine Star," he chuckled. "Took it apart in record time. We all had to clean up though, there were a few who clipped the wrong wire."

Raven entered then, looking relieved. "How was it?" Cyborg launched into a detailed description of disabling the bomb (All the wires were the same color and took forever to untangle) and soon it moved past informative and dissolved into a commentary on the other teams. Robin noticed Raven getting bored and took the opportunity to pull her aside.

"What's the point of all this?" he asked once they were out of earshot. "Why the Challenges?"

"It helps to keep the experiments in line," she sighed. "The winners get a reward which encourages everyone to perform their best, which in turn allows the scientists to collect data. Then once they have everything they can get from observation the losers get lab time so that they can get info on a more scientific level."

Robin swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. It made sense, in a twisted, sadistic way. But something still didn't make sense. "But why? Why allow us to learn to fight, to take apart bombs? What's the endgame?" It was almost as if they were being fashioned into-

"Weapons," Raven droned, unhappy with the turn in the conversation. "We are the perfect army- mutant children conditioned to fight. The government would be unwilling to kill us, considering most of us still retain the appearance of humanity."

"But how would they get you to fight? Couldn't you just refuse?"

Raven gave him a pitying look. "Most of us would do anything to get out of here."

"Even kill the ones who would save you?"

"There is no logic to survival."

"But if-"

"Don't try to reason through this!" Raven snapped, and the lights started to flicker. "You know nothing! You've been practically untouched! How can you possibly understand what we've had to go through?" Robin took a step back as her voice grew louder and angrier. "It's been two days since you got here. You still believe there's hope. But there isn't any! We're stuck here, until one of the scientist pump in too much radiation or someone loses control during a challenge. There is no one coming to save us!"

Everyone in the room was silent as Raven finished her speech, shocked at her outburst. The empath looked around, at Cyborg's bowed head and Beast Boy's slumped shoulders, at the way Starfire wrapped her arms around herself and refused to meet her gaze. She had spoken the truth that no one wanted to hear, and seeing her teammates- friends, family- as defeated as they were broke her rage.

"I- I'm sorry," she whispered. "That's just how it is."

* * *

"Robin? Are you the O-K?" Starfire's voice punctuated the sound of fists hitting fabric. Robin paused in his attack on the punching bag.

"What's up, Star?" He felt that it was best to act as if nothing had happened.

"I am the sorry for what Raven said. But she is right. It is unwise for us to hope."

It hurt Robin to see them give up on the idea of escape. That was, after all what he was there for. To get them out. But he couldn't blow his cover, no matter how much he wanted to. So he kept silent.

"I'm sure she did not mean to do the yelling," Starfire tried.

"What set her off?" Robin asked, speaking for the first time. He kept his back to her, knowing he would lose his resolve to find answers if he had to watch his questions affect her.

"Sometimes we refuse to fight. They hurt us more when we do. And then we met Mad Mod."

"Who's Mad Mod?"

"He is a scientist with a strange accent. He did something that made my head hurt and then Beast Boy tried to kill Raven. I imagine she is still affected by that."

At that Robin did turn around, to find her gazing balefully at him from the doorway to the gym. "I'm sorry... I had no idea. Raven was right. I know nothing."

"That is not true. You did much helping this morning in teaching us to fight," she consoled. Robin's shoulders dropped in response to yet another attempt to make him feel better.

"What else have they done?" Robin asked, turning back to the punching bag and missing the moment when she blanched and forced her face into an unreadable mask.

"It does not matter," she said forcibly.

"You don't have to protect me from the truth."

"It is not you I am doing the protecting of," she whispered, so softly that he almost didn't hear it. When he turned around again she was gone.

**Again, sorry for length. Review please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AHHHH I'M SO SORRY. Three sports plus school is really hard to juggle, but now that volleyball is over my life will become much less hectic. Also, I'm on vacation so I plan on writing a LOT this week. I know it's short, I just capped off what has been sitting in my folder for the past two weeks to let you guys know I'm alive. **

The next few days passed without incident, though there was a bit of tension that was finally broken by one of Beast Boy's bad puns. All too soon, the group of T.I.T.A.N. experiments (plus Robin) were standing in front of the main doors, silently waiting for them to open. Everyone wore masks of determination.

Finally the now-familiar alarm blares and they collectively step into the hallway. A couple of red armbands were tossed haphazardly at their feet. "To gather data," Cyborg explained, sliding one over his mechanical bicep. "And also to distinguish the teams." Raven had already warned him about what to expect.

The goal of the game was to take out the other experiments while receiving the least amount of damage. Powers only- though where they could get a hold on weapons was beyond Robin. They had an alliance with Bee's team, who were marked with yellow. Everyone else was fair game, at least for the time being. To be considered down for the count the armband had to be removed. Any rule breaking was punishable with lab time. Last team standing automatically wins, the rest to be determined by damage earned. Raven also explained how "kills" were weighted: being taken out in the beginning of the game cost more than hanging on until the end.

As the empath talked, something unidentifiable settled in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't the type of gut-wrenching emotion that normally struck him whenever new information was revealed. It was heavier, darker, and infinitely more depressing.

Acceptance?

No. He couldn't be accepting this- this monstrosity. He would find a way to punch a hole in Project T.I.T.A.N., no matter what it took.

A tiny, cold and distant part of him was impressed, though. It made sense, the way it was orchestrated. It preyed on the human instinct to survive, thus creating a drive to obey, to follow the rules. Robin was going to fight to the best of his ability (which was a level beyond the unrefined battle that was about to take place) even though he knew that it would give Slade exactly what he wanted. All of his anger- at the Project, at the system, at himself for following along- began to pound in his head. His plus quickened as his teammates led him into a small, undecorated room; after taking a moment to collect himself he realized the floor they were standing on was made of metal.

"Find cover as soon as possible," Raven warned, speaking to all of them. Robin was about to ask what they could possibly use as cover when everything went dark.

The floor started moving.

**Let me know what you guys think, or just yell at me for not updating sooner. (I really am sorry!)**

**-Dawn**


	10. Chapter 10

**So um. Hey. **

**PLEASE DON'T KILL ME HERE READ IT**

Suddenly there were more people in the room than there were before. Robin could feel them moving around him though the blackness made it impossible to see. There was the unmistakable scuffling sound of people fighting and then suddenly everything lit up green. The starbolt only lasted for a brief second but it was enough for Robin to see the men that were pulling his teammates away.

And then he was alone.

Of course, he should have expected this. They had planned to stick together so that they could cover each other. It made sense that the scientists would want the teams split up- cleaner data, that way. But that didn't stop the guilt from settling over him, chanting should have fought, should have fought.

Slowly, so slowly that at first Robin didn't notice it, the darkness faded until he could make out a doorway cut into the wall. The light wasn't strong enough for him to see more than a few feet in front of him, but he could tell that the narrow hallway was part of a maze. The entrance closed up behind him.

He came to the split quickly and, because Starfire had been on his right when they were separated, took the path that went in that direction. All of the tunnels- they were too supressing to be described as halls- looked identical, with only slight variations of length. He had no idea where he was, or even if anyone else was in the maze with him, until he bumped into a familiar half-robot.

"Cyborg, it's me!" Robin grunted as he narrowly dodged a fist.

"Sorry. Just ran into one of Green." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Robin winced in sympathy. While he had let to learn the names of the members from the less connected teams, Raven had pointed out a few who looked more like bouncers than teenagers and tagged them with a warning. Big and strong but not particularly bright. Easy enough to take down, as long as they don't get the first hit. Cyborg matched them in strength, for the most part, and was infinitely superior in intelligence. Robin was glad to have him on his.

His reflection was cut short by a resonating crash that shook the tunnel. They both froze.

"That coulda been Beast Boy," Cyborg said. "He usually gets impatient and crashes through the walls."

He looked at Robin.

Had it been the time, Robin would have marveled at the fact that although he'd only been on the team for a few days, Cyborg- older and stronger and experienced- had looked to him for orders.

But instead he headed in what at least appeared to be the direction of the mild earthquake's source.

* * *

Mayhem. What's the first word that came to mind as he and Cyborg crouched behind what was left of the wall. The experiments had collectively (albeit archaically) cleared a space big enough to allow for several hand-to-hand fights to go on while other rubble was thrown in favor of a long-distance battle. Robin spotted a suspiciously green bull run down a behemoth and felt confident that if they banded together, they might be able to take out a decent portion of the room.

And then he had an Idea.

"Can you turn that thing into a weapon?" he asked, gesturing to Cyborg's mechanical arm. The grin was answer enough and while his teammate went to work, Robin threw himself into the fray.

Almost immediately he found himself back to back with Beast Boy, who had remembered Robin's safety-in-numbers advice. Fighting together attracted more attention, but the combination Robin's experience and Beast Boy's abilities gave them an edge. If someone were to ask later, after the battle was over, who he'd been fighting, Robin would be unable to give an answer. It was all blurred together, to the point where the only thing he recognized about his opponent was strengths and weaknesses. These were people with whom he had eaten lunch with- amicably with some, wearily with others- and he saw them as nothing more than obstacles to be defeated.

Somehow he sensed something hurtling towards him and spun, only to be faced with a chunk of wall held suspended by black energy. Raven had arrived on the scene.

Robin threw himself back into battle; at this point he was punching, kicking, dodging, and blocking on autopilot. Every once in awhile a starbolt would fly across his field of vision. His team was together, fighting as separate beings part of a larger whole.

Briefly he heard the sound of a sonic cannon charging up, before a member of the team known as the Hive (Robin vaguely remembered his name to be Mammoth) was completely leveled. The fighting stopped immediately as all of the experiments turned to a grinning Cyborg.

Of course the scene wouldn't be complete without a "Booyah!" Robin smiled as Beast Boy offered a high five.

Before they could get back to fighting the lights powered onto full brightness. It seemed that Slade appeared out of nowhere, along with a small ensemble of armed goons.

And he was angry.

Robin could tell before he even opened his mouth that his fury was only slightly contained. Despite the fact that his face was covered by his mask, rage coiled behind each movement he made.

"Who used a weapon?" Slade growled. Robin gulped. Both he and Cyborg had forgotten the rules, and now his friend would pay. He almost stepped forward and took the blame, except someone else beat him to it.

"The fault was mine. I instructed him to fashion a weapon."

Robin's heart stuttered.

_Starfire, no._

**I AM SO SORRY PLEASE DON'T HURT ME. Unfortunately, I have finals coming up so I probably won't update for a while. I PROMISE I'M NEVER GOING TO DROP THIS STORY DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE**

**Anyway review please! I apologize for my shitty fight-scene writing... if anyone can lend a hand on how to improve? Thanks guys for bearing with me.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys. Didn't expect me so soon, didya. **

**Anyway, because I've been made aware of how horrible a person the last chapter's ending made me, (mostly through threats- you know who you are *cough*caro*cough*) I scrambled to put this together.**

**Don't get too excited. It's a bonus chapter. Taking place the night before the competition. Sorry.**

**I figured y'all deserved some fluff, though, for sticking with me for so long. **

"Robin?" Starfire's voice was small and uncertain, almost scared. He immediately stopped his workout to face her, worrying perhaps a touch more than the situation called for. For some unfathomable reason, his heart stuttered with brief panic until he was able to register the lack of immediate threat.

"What's up, Star?" he asked, relief evident in his voice. As he reached for a towel he noticed the way her feet were shuffling nervously.

"Um, you see, tomorrow is the competition so Raven has locked herself in her room and I did not wish to disturb Beast Boy and Cyborg from their gaming of video and I don't know how to read very well," she said all in one breath. Her eyes went wide, like she had told a huge secret.

"Wait... What?"

She took a deep breath like she was preparing to repeat the whole thing again.

"No, I mean what do you want?" Starfire seemed to understand that he didn't mean his words in a harsh way, but he still winced at the phrasing.

"Would you be terribly displeased if you help me read?" she whispered.

Robin smiled.

"Of course I wouldn't. Give me five minutes to shower."

…

When Robin got back to his room after his shower (4 minutes, he was proud to say) Starfire was sitting on the edge of his bed, turning the Old Man and the Sea over in her hands. He swallowed thickly. She had changed into a shirt that was way too big, making it unclear whether or not she was wearing shorts.

He tried not to think about it.

When she noticed him standing awkwardly in the doorway, her eyes lit up and she smiled; though whether it was sweetly, gratefully, or just regular Starfire optimism he neither knew nor cared, seeing how he was still unwillingly mulling over the matter of her shorts.

"So, do you want to read or should I?" he asked, coming over to sit next to her. His answer was a huge, albeit cute, yawn. Suddenly he remembered how hard he had pushed them in training that morning and decided to spare her the headache. He was already aware of her limited sleep, though he didn't know the cause.

Of course, he was only aware because he overheard Cyborg's "Rough night?" comment.

Starfire's performance hadn't been affected, as far as he could tell. Nor was her attitude any less cheerful. But Robin, while not keen on fixing his own insomnia, decided in a spasm of self-righteous arrogance that he would be able to help.

And look, he had the perfect book to put her to sleep.

He glanced briefly at the wall behind him. Don't do it, he told himself. Bad idea.

"Com'ere Star," he decided, throwing caution to the wind. Starfire, clearly, had no qualms about settling herself right next to him as they moved to use the wall as a backrest. Right next to him. As in, touching. Without any conscious thought his arm snaked around her waist and drew her closer. Robin was amazed at how they fit together, as cliche as it sounded. It wasn't that he didn't notice her elbow sticking into his side a bit or how his arm was already starting to grow numb, in fact quite the opposite. But he was also hyper-aware of the way her hair smelled (his subconscious decided that if sunlight had a scent, that was it) and how he could feel her heat through two layers of clothes. No, it was how they had almost no space between them and the only thing he felt was a content, warm buzz. He couldn't remember if he had ever allowed anyone to be this close without at least cursory mistrust. She felt familiar, as unlikely to hurt him as he was to hurt her. Perhaps it was because the for other Titans had been almost his only contact for the past few days, or maybe it was his vow to protect her even if though he had yet to find a way to do so. He was Robin and she was Star, and they fit together like a left hand in right.

Starfire seemed to perk up as he opened to the first page of the thin book. Robin had a sudden feeling that despite his animosity towards Santiago, Old Man and the Sea would soon become his favorite book.

Especially if they always read like this.

"He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky..."

Yes.

He liked this very much.

**So, thoughts? It started out rocky, in my opinion. Ways to improve? Questions? If anyone gets the reference I'll update by next sunday (the one after the 16th)**

**Please Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I am a horrible, horrible person. I thought I would have more time to update once summer started. Except I underestimated the amount of time I would spend at the barn. On the bright side, I'm getting paid and I'm socializing. On the downside, no updates. **

**So. Hi.**

**Enjoy (and please think about reviewing while you read it really helps to get constructive criticism. **

"Robin, you need to calm down."

If Robin had been thinking straight he would have noticed that Raven's voice held more concern and distress than he had ever heard - more than he would have thought possible. The detail flew straight over his head as he filed away the command as white noise, refusing to stop pacing. The last few minutes of the fight replayed in his head, over and over again. Starfire taking the blame. Starfire being grabbed by Slade's goons. Starfire silencing his desperate objections with a starbolt to the gut.

Starfire being led away, back to where he promised she'd never have to go.

Something grabbed his upper arm and he snarled before realizing it was Beast Boy. The changeling's expression was broken, but he looked up at Robin with the tiniest bit of hope. Hope that he, the newest arrival, could somehow help. Robin almost broke then, as the lives of all the experiments weighed heavily on his conscience. He looked around at his teammates - at Cyborg, sitting crumpled on the couch with his head buried in his hands. At Raven, who stared back with sad and defeated eyes.

Again at Beast Boy. He shouldn't hope so much.

A rallying speech would have been nice. A plan of defiance - even better. At the very least he should have been able to offer a comforting expression.

But he couldn't. All he could think was my fault, all my fault, so instead he turned on his heel and walked down the hall to his room.

He didn't remember sitting on his bed, but then his fingers brushed against The Old Man and the Sea and he felt like someone punched him. Just last night they had sat there, reading about a fisherman and Starfire had asked him questions about the ocean and the competition had not once crossed their thoughts. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but his bed still smelled like her (though whether it was just his mind playing tricks he wasn't sure) and that was when he finally fell apart.

After a few moments of losing it, he pulled himself together and thought.

…

Beast Boy was the first to move after Robin left. He shifted into a cat, green and fluffy and- he hoped- comforting. It was easy for him to jump up onto the couch despite his proximity to the ground. He had to nudge Raven's arm to get her attention, and when she finally looked down at him he pushed himself onto her lap. Startled, she hesitated before stroking his head. Cyborg told him once that petting an animal could improve a person's mood. Beast Boy wasn't one to doubt his friend's random facts, seeing as he had been in the real world for much more of his life. He wasn't sure if Raven knew this tidbit (she probably did) but her lips curled into a small smile nonetheless.

Normally, his first reaction would be to crack a joke, lighten the mood. Starfire was the comforter- he was just the one with the foot in his mouth. He figured that it wouldn't be well received given the circumstances- he didn't exactly have the spirit to come up with one in any case. It wasn't like it was the lab time that had him so distraught. They had all been there, and they had all recovered. But... he thought it'd be different, now that they had Robin. Cyborg and Raven had been brilliant leaders, of course, but they had lost the desire to escape ages ago. And although Starfire had always had this unexplainable cheerfulness that could make everything seem alright, it wasn't the same as hope. Robin gave them a chance, which they hadn't had in a long time. The fact that even he couldn't protect them from the system was a hard crash into reality.

The changeling turned to look at Cyborg, who still hadn't moved from his broken position on the end of the couch. Something stirred in him then, simultaneously a feeling and a revelation. His feline form changed from a kitten to a lion, so that he was big enough to provide both of his teammates comfort. And though he couldn't put it into words, the revelation was this:

When one of them falls, the others must be twice as strong.

...

Robin wasn't sure how much time had passed before his door opened. All he knew was that he didn't fall asleep; all of his energy was directed towards coming up with a plan. He didn't look up immediately, though when he did he stood up at once. No words were spoken between the leader and the empath as Raven led the way to the makeshift medical bay, though Robin took note of the determined set of her usually apathetic face. He thought nothing would be able to prepare him for what might have been waiting for him in the room in which he had first woken up.

She was sitting up, at least.

In fact, if it weren't for the healing marks on her arms and stomach, it would be hard to tell she had been tested on at all. She was smiling, her eyes as bright as ever as she assured Cyborg that of course it wasn't his fault, that it was her decision. Raven immediately continued to heal what was left of her wounds, leaving Robin to stand in the doorway. He watched for a minute, smiling a bit at the green kitten curled against her legs.

Starfire looked up then and met his gaze. Silently, he walked the short distance to her bed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to her. "I am fine," she said earnestly.

Of course she was fine. Of course she was smiling and reassuring and comforting because she was Starfire. And she had been doing this for years before he came along.

Which is why he had to get her- all of them- out.

He gave her hand a quick squeeze before mentally preparing to address the rest of his team. Screw it, he thought. Just say it outright.

"I have a plan."

**Thoughts?**

**I'm trying to give the other characters bigger roles and ****_development_**** because I heard that's a thing writers should do so I'd really appreciate it if you told me if I did something right or wrong or whatever. **

**(Also I got a horse and I'm still at the stage where I want to talk about him all the time so feel free to make conversation because I have a horse eek!) **


End file.
